Red alert: this post has nothing to do with Winter Holidays

12/01/2014

Refinery29 has an absolutely fantastic interview with Girls' Executive Producer Jenni Konner. So much of it rang true to my ears as to what we work hard to achieve here at Catbird. Hire not only amazing people, but also people who get along, manage with kindness, that it's okay to take things personally - even when you're the boss. And it's okaygreat to do your job like a woman!

The full article is here. I can't possibly recommend it enough. Especially for any other women running companies out there.

xo

Rony

PS - Jenni & Lena - I heart you, big time.

Some quotes from it that really stood out for me:

"And, I have this personal theory that women crew up differently than men. Instead of being like 'Okay we need the best DP, and the best gaffer,' they think ‘We need the best gaffer that’s going to get along with the best DP.' They think about personality balances in a way that I think is uniquely female. [That’s a part of why] our crew keeps coming back year and year. It’s not a very convenient job to have, honestly. They can get on other shows that last all year long. So, it’s not the most lucrative job, but all of our crew comes back, and I think that’s because it’s a lovely place to be. I’m really proud of our management style."How have you taught yourself to take a beat and process the thoughtful criticism — to deal with the idea that someone is unhappy with your work, which is so personal? "People always say you can’t take that stuff personally, but that has never worked for me. I actually do take things personally and that’s okay, too. I do feel like our work is personal and sometimes we feel personally about it. I think one of the great gifts of being a woman in the world is that we take things personally — and our work is different because of it. "I don’t ever try to back away from what the female version of a showrunner looks like. I never try to do my job like a man; I’m trying to do my job like a woman. I do take things personally and I do very much care about the feelings of everyone including our crew, our cast, and our writers. And, I think we have a very functional cast and crew because of it, not despite it."

That’s such a refreshing approach. We give so much career advice to women that is about hiding their female-ness, but it shouldn’t have to be that way. "I know. I was being interviewed recently, and they were talking about the dos and don’ts in the office and asked about crying. I was like, ‘Yeah, I cry at work!' It’s okay to show vulnerability and still be in control." Do you believe there are people working for you right now who are taking away those same kinds of lessons? "I hope so, I really hope so. Lena and I both, we really try to do our jobs with kindness. There are plenty of people who don’t run a show in a kind way and still have really great shows. The equation isn’t be nice and your show will be good, but even with that being said, why wouldn’t you? I hope people learn [from us] that you can be really kind and open and still have a lot of strength."